Pacers notebook: New uniforms, TV partner, and an old softball game returns

INDIANAPOLIS – Hello! Despite the Fever dominating the coverage on this website of late, the Pacers do, in fact, still exist. And this has been a newsier August for the blue and gold – usually, this is a quiet month. But (some links go elsewhere) they've announced a new television partner, had their star player speak to reporters, and waived a player in Ethan Thompson. And that's on top of their schedule announcement last week as well as finally completing their reported (on this website!) agreement with Braden Smith on a two-way contract.

I'll handle all of the roster moves in a soon-coming post. In the meantime, there are a few things that require more detail here.

Circle City Spin

The Indiana Pacers and Indiana Fever, up close

Circle City SpinTony East

The pinstripes are back

Say goodbye, for now, to the Pacers yellow uniforms from recent seasons. They have been replaced for 2026-27 with a new Statement Edition kit, and it's a familiar one for the franchise.

The pinstripes are back.

They are more gold when compared to the previous version, which originally joined the Pacers jersey rotation in 1997. Later this summer, they'll go on sale. All the details can be found here.

And don't forget, every team also has a City Edition uniform. The Pacers leaned into past eras with that jersey, the Moments Mixtape version, last year.

The charity softball game returns

On Monday, August 24, the Pacers Foundation Charity Softball Classic will take place at Victory Field. Tyrese Haliburton is captaining the event, with the goal being to raise money and awareness for youth food insecurity across the state – specifically through Drive & Dish, a program founded by Rick Carlisle.

Aaron Nesmith, Andrew Nembhard and T.J. McConnell will be there, as will several Indianapolis Colts players. Pat McAfee is emceeing.

Haliburton has wanted to bring back the event since he signed a contract extension with the Pacers in 2023. He brought the idea up to Pacers VP of Player Relations Karen Atkeson and finally had more time to iron out the details in the past year thanks to his injury.

"Obviously I know the history of the event and the last time that it was had, what came with it," Haliburton said with a smile. (Paul George related reminder for those who don't know or forgot)

"We're trying to create more positive memories behind it," Haliburton added. "I'm really looking forward to it. It's going to be a lot of fun and we're gonna have a lot of people there."

DAZN is the Pacers new broadcast partner

Pacers games will stream on DAZN (pronounced Da-Zone) this coming season. They'll carry all 71 Pacers games that aren't on national TV, plus the four preseason outings.

No cable. Instead, an app. I was in a press briefing as some Pacers officials explained the decision to go with DAZN, and they shared some numbers to support their choice. In 2010, roughly 88% of their market paid for television (i.e. not streaming). That was how to reach basically every fan. 16 years later, that number is down to about one-third – 30%, according to Chief Commercial Officer Joey Graziano.

Thus, in their eyes, DAZN helps meet fans where they already are. I asked specifically why they didn't go with an over the air option, as some other NBA teams have. PS&E President and CEO Mel Raines said the following:

"Some markets have the opportunity with a Scripps or a Gray to have an empty channel that’s already bought into the lower tier of Comcast or Spectrum or those kinds of channels – DirecTV, Dish. That’s not available in our market right now. As you know, there’s been a lot of consolidation,” Raines began. “And so unfortunately, we didn’t have that opportunity. But frankly, we wouldn’t have reached… As many people. And so our goal here is to make everyone a fan. We have a company mission."

Other notes copied from the Pacers announcement:

• 22 free games: Watch 22 games this season at no cost on the DAZN app, with 15 of those 22 games also expected to be available through a local over-the-air broadcast partner. In addition, fans will be able to access Pacers preseason games for free via DAZN.
• 50% off the Season Pass: Fans who sign up by Oct. 15 can purchase an Early Bird Season Pass for $59.99 – 50% off the regular $119.99 price – bringing the cost to about $1 per game.
• Free DAZN Season Pass for Pacers Season Ticket Holders: All Pacers season ticket holders will receive a complimentary DAZN Season Pass subscription for the 2026-27 season.
• More Pacers content: Enjoy expanded pregame and postgame coverage, highlights, behind-the-scenes access and exclusive original programming.

I have some experience with DAZN from earlier in the summer as I paid for Courtside 1891 (which is now a part of DAZN) to watch some Pacers play in World Cup Qualifying action. The User Interface had some glitches, and I heard audio from multiple windows simultaneously on a few, but certainly not all, occasions. But don't take those notes and be scared. It mostly ran smoothly – I had zero login, payment, or access issues. If you're willing to try another streaming app, DAZN (while lesser known in the U.S.) does function well.

And, of course, it'll be the same announcing crew that you know with Jeremiah Johnson, Chris Denari, Quinn Buckner, and Eddie Gill returning.

Yuki Kawamura signs with the Clippers

This is not a Pacers transaction, but it belongs here. After stealing the hearts of many Pacers fans, and even some players, during summer league while playing for the blue and gold, Yuki Kawamura is headed elsewhere.

He's headed to the LA Clippers, who announced that they'd signed the small guard to an Exhibit 10 contract.

There was a ton of Japanese media at summer league to cover Kawamura. Now, he teams up with fellow Japanese player Rui Hachimura, at least for some time, in LA. He won't be with the Noblesville Boom.

Somehow, Pacers training camp is barely over one month away. The Fever have been dominating my time of late, but I have a few Pacers stories cooking up for this website. Sign up and they'll be emailed directly to you.